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Latvia Hosts Over 1000 Media Visits in 2015

Riga, 21.01.2016.

The Latvian airline airBaltic and Latvian organisations and institutions hosted over 1000 international journalists on media trips in 2015.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “The aviation industry is vital for the economy. In Latvia alone, it supports almost 3% of the gross domestic product and 2% of all active jobs. Naturally, our focus is to promote Latvia and the Baltic region as a destination via media to attract travellers who spend their money in the local economy, thus supporting growth and jobs.”

In 2015, airBaltic hosted 472 media visits, up +30% compared to the previous year when the carrier hosted 363 media visits. The media representatives arriving in Latvia come from all over the world with the largest groups of journalists originating from Germany (11%), Austria (6%), France (5%), UK (5%), Switzerland (4%) and Finland (4%).

Furthermore, Latvia hosted over 800 journalists from 42 countries during the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first six months of 2015. In addition, more than 200 international media visits were hosted by the Rīga Tourism Development Bureau (LiveRīga).

Vita Jermolovica, Chairperson of the Board of the Riga Tourism Development Bureau: “Although the official tourism data are being finalised for last year, our peak season in summer 2015 saw most of the tourists arrive from Germany (15.3%), Russia (9.4%), Estonia (7.5%), Finland (6.8%) and Lithuania (5.9%). But we also see that more and more tourists from Western Europe are interested in our region. For example, Riga Tourism information centre numbers show that travellers from Benilux countries had significantly increased over the last year and were up by 37%, as well as travellers from Spain – up by 25%, but from France – up by 17%. We have reached these numbers partly because of our intense and hard work with journalists and bloggers we host from these countries, who afterwards spread the word and experience they have had in our beautiful country.”

airBaltic serves over 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these locations, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, CIS and the Middle East. In addition, airBaltic also offers new direct flights from Tallinn and Vilnius.

airBaltic (AIR BALTIC CORPORATION) is the world’s most punctual airline connecting the Baltic region with 60 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 99.8% of the stock. The airBaltic fleet consists of 24 aircraft – 12 Boeing 737 and 12 Bombardier Q400Next Gen. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence, innovative services, and achievements in reshaping its business. In 2012, airBaltic was ranked by Airlinetrends among the Top 10 airlines globally for innovations. airBaltic achieved the best on-time performance globally for two years running in 2014 and 2015.

airBaltic is the national Latvian airline that offers cheap flights to over 50 destinations in Europe and beyond from Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. Its convenient flight schedule is great for both business and leisure travel, and frequent online deals at low prices provide the option to book holidays well in advance or grab a last-minute flight. Tickets are available for booking online on airBaltic.com, at travel agencies or via airBaltic call centre.